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Grooming Schools

PetGroomer.com has one of the largest lists of grooming schools anywhere. Please note that all schools do not list with PetGroomer.com. Some accept very limited enrollment and with so much exposure at our site we can overwhelm them with prospective students. First, here are our sponsors that make this Industry Resources section possible. Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

This Industry Directory may include additional companies below that are not advertising sponsors. To apply for a complimentary basic listing click here. Pet grooming businesses are not listed here. See www.findagroomer.com for a free account in the Find A Groomer Directory for Pet Owners.

We have prepared a truly extensive easy-to-read Career Start Guide last updated in early 2011 which is available on PetGroomer.com at www.petgroomercd.com. It's free, you only pay shipping and handling and comes with many more features. There is a wealth of information there, some that you simply find anywhere else. Every career seeker should read this guide, and come to our GroomerTALK Message Board and ask questions from our helpful members. You can read the report online, click here.

If you haven't surfed PetGroomer.com you may be surprised to learn that there are 2,000 or more job openings for pet groomers in the U.S. alone any day of the year. There are even job openings in many foreign countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and at times Asia. Yes, you can make a living as an employed pet groomer with skill and productivity.

Some career seekers get astonished looks when they share with others they are going to be a groomer because there are plenty of people that don't realize the fine opportunities in pet grooming. We know different. In the CareerTALK Forum on the GroomerTALK Message Board you can read many threads where the career seeker is wondering how much can be earned as an employed pet groomer. The range is very broad depending upon the position and most important the skill level and productivity of the pet groomer. Yes, there are full-time groomers with some management duties in pet superstores and independents earning annual gross wages of $75,000 to over $100,000 and some with plenty of benefits too. On the other hand there are groomers that choose not to strive to these positions and happily earn $25,000 to $50,000 a year. You make the choice what is right for you. We suggest you read the results of PetGroomer.com Surveys of employed groomers to learn more, and then many other links to resources here listed in the left column.

Did you know that the PetGroomer.com Classified Ads includes a section of Help Wanted Ads and that is the largest anywhere in the world? Over 300,000 ads have been published free of charge since 1997 and up to 1,000 are available daily. You can learn about the employment landscape for pet groomers simply by reading the ads.

Education is the most important key, and then gaining productivity. You cannot expect to earn a good wage if it takes you 4 hours to groom a pet. Productive skilled groomers working alone can do 7 to 8 pets from start-to-finish in an 8 hour workday. It is important for you to gain that level of productivity. Some groomers can do that in one year and others longer. We have vast resources of education information here. They range from pet grooming schools, home study to independent and corporate chain employers willing to train in various manners.

Diversity of employment is the first attribute you are likely to notice. You will find employment offers in pet retail environments, as well as in pet salons, shops, spas, kennels, hotels, daycares and veterinarian clinics. The working environment of each is often much different than the others.

If benefits such as health insurance and 401K are important to you they are most prevalent in the pet superstore salons and veterinarian clinics, yet still available in some independently owned salons, shops and boarding facilities. Never take benefits for granted in the grooming industry, perhaps as many as 50% of grooming businesses offer little or no benefits. It's not out of greed. Pet grooming is labor intensive and actually the consumer pet owner in the U.S. gets a pretty good deal in the pricing of grooming services.

The smaller the grooming operation the less likely its owner can provide benefits simply from a financial standpoint. Large grooming operations can spread the costs of benefits across more services provided and even use profit from other sources of revenue such a retail department to support the cost of benefits. As a result you may need to factor in the cost of health insurance out of your own pocket from your pay.

Write a Career Plan

Write out a career plan in grooming. You will be given guidance in how to do this using the links provided in the left column. You must have a household budget. Do you need $1,500 a month (after taxes) to pay your rent, car, gas, food and insurance? Whatever the number study the opportunities in grooming that offer the wage levels you require, and how much schooling and experience you need to fill the target positions.

Talk with Other Groomers

We suggest you come to the GroomerTALK Message Board and look for the Beginners Forums. You are most welcome to register on the Message Board and start some discussions, ask for help and make friends with groomers and others. You will soon learn that grooming opportunities and experiences are quite diverse and opinions can vary greatly. Better yet, how about sharing your experiences with your career plan and you might even help others too. That's what PetGroomer.com is about, opening up lines of communication between groomers that is still so sorely missing from our industry.

If you haven't surfed PetGroomer.com you may be surprised to learn that there are 2,000 or more job openings for pet groomers in the U.S. any day of the year. There are also job openings in many foreign countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Asia. Yes, you really can make a living as an employed pet groomer with skill and productivity. On a typical day we have 500 or more help wanted ads for new and advanced groomers in the Classified Ads. We suggest you review the ads to get a better understanding of what business owners are looking for in employees, and sometimes you may find training opportunities too.

Pet Grooming is a Viable Professional Career

Not everyone understands that pet grooming is a viable, professional career. It's not a vocationally licensed career such as hairstyling for people. Therefore there are many opinions and formats as to what makes a professional groomer and career, but indeed, it is a great career for those with patience and patience working with pets. Of course, you may get an astonished look when you share your dream to become a pet groomer. We hired many groomers for our business who at one time were planning to be paralegals, veterinarians or computer programmers. Wrong! They fell in love with pet grooming.

Can you "make a living?" Our family has been in the field for 50 years and we were able to buy homes, cars and send kids to college just from our income as pet grooming business owners. Yes, pet grooming is a viable, professional career for those with the attributes. Once again we encourage you to review the results of PetGroomer.com Surveys where groomers shared their average annual incomes and more. Annual incomes before taxes can range from $20,000 to $75,000 and some even more.

Read the CareerSeekerTALK Forum on the GroomerTALK Message Board. Some of the questions you have about a career in grooming have likely been discussed. You can sign-up with just an email and ask questions. We have many friendly members that will lend a helping paw, er, hand.

Education is Key

Education is key to your career as well as increasing your productivity by experience. You cannot expect to earn a good wage if it takes you 4 hours to groom a pet. Productive skilled groomers working alone can do 7 to 8 pets from start-to-finish in an 8 hour workday. It is important for you to gain that level of productivity. Some groomers can do that in one year and others longer.

We have vast resources of pet grooming education information right here in the Resources Industry Directory. Sources of education include pet grooming schools, home study programs, and independent and corporate chain employers willing to train. You should also get a free copy of PetGroomerCD at www.petgroomercd.com.

Even though you are a career seeker now, never overlook continuing education. Impressive groomers have always gotten additional training after their schooling and apprenticeships by seeking continuing education, and participating voluntary certification programs.

Diversity of Employment Opportunities

Diversity of employment is the first attribute you are likely to notice. You will find employment offers in pet retail environments, as well as in pet salons, shops, spas, kennels, hotels, daycares and veterinarian clinics. The working environment of each is often much different than the others.

If benefits such as health insurance and 401K are important to you they are most prevalent in the pet superstore salons and veterinarian clinics, yet still available in some independently owned salons, shops and boarding facilities. Never take benefits for granted in the grooming industry, perhaps as many as 50% of grooming businesses offer little or no benefits. It's not out of greed. Pet grooming is labor intensive and actually the consumer pet owner in the U.S. gets a pretty good deal in the pricing of grooming services.

The smaller the grooming operation the less likely its owner can provide benefits simply from a financial standpoint. Large grooming operations can spread the costs of benefits across more services provided and even use profit from other sources of revenue such a retail department to support the cost of benefits. As a result you may need to factor in the cost of health insurance out of your own pocket from your pay.

Write a Career Plan

Once you have completed the research suggestions above, write out a personal career plan in grooming. From this point forward your career plan should state 1) your educational plan and budget, 2) your desired or required income to cover your household budget and 3) long term goals as a professional groomer including possible self-employment, optional grooming certification, competition grooming and perhaps other pet care certifications such as massage therapist or trainer. Put your plans into writing! Don't rely on memory alone.

Talk with Other Groomers

Talk with others on the GroomerTALK Message Board. You will find our love for pets with style is a common bond, but our career paths in the pet care field are quite diverse. Learn from others. Ask questions. Don't be shy. There are no "stupid questions." That's what PetGroomer.com is about, opening up lines of communication between groomers that is still so sorely missing from our industry.

PetGroomer.com has a List of Grooming Schools Worldwide and another version is also providerd here in the Resources Industry Directory that you are reading now. Please note that not every onsite grooming school is listed here, but the majority are. Some schools allow very limited enrollment each year. Because PetGroomer.com has huge web traffic we can sometimes swamp these very small schools with too many prospective student inquiries, so they ask us to occasionally remove their listings temporarily. If you don't see a school listed here, know this. Most US states "state license" vocational schools. Sometimes you can contact those state agencies and ask for a list of state licensed vocational grooming schools in their states.

The choice of your grooming school couldn’t be more important. Your education is going to back a career of many years, even several decades. Grooming is how you intend to earn a living, and how you may expect to call yourself a professional.

You've probably noticed that professionals advise the public where they received their education. Look for their diplomas and certificates hanging on the walls of their offices. Isn’t the same discerning attitude appropriate for you? Are you not going to be caring for living animals beloved by their owners? Are you not going to be operating advanced tools and machinery and to be expected to potentially groom everything tall and small in the canine world and perhaps the feline world as well? Won’t your clients expect expert styling, safety, humane treatment and proper handling? Of course, your educational choice is one of the most important decisions you will make in your career.

“Caveat emptor” is Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” That adage certainly applies. Remember that in a profession without vocational licensing in any U.S. state any and every grooming school owner has the liberty to design a curriculum for grooming totally “their way.” Therefore, we assure you that curriculums vary greatly from school to school, no two are the same. However we don’t want to scare you. Most schools are reputable, but not every program serves the needs of every new career seeker. That’s where you need to learn just what are your educational needs.

“Caveat emptor” is Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” That adage certainly applies. Remember that in a profession without vocational licensing in any U.S. state any and every grooming school owner has the liberty to design a curriculum for grooming totally “their way.” Therefore, we assure you that curriculums vary greatly from school to school, no two are the same. However we don’t want to scare you. Most schools are reputable, but not every program serves the needs of every new career seeker. That’s where you need to learn just what are your educational needs.

If you were to ask us the most common mistake students make in selecting a school, we wouldn’t lose a beat and say, “Choosing to attend a school solely based on the reason that it is the closest one to where you live.” The odds that the curriculum right for you is in your neighborhood wouldn’t take you far in Las Vegas. Yes we have heard every excuse why someone cannot travel outside of their area to attend school for a few weeks. Fine, it is your choice and we are just giving you our best advice. We have all too often heard some remorse from students that they didn’t travel to this or that school, so there you have it. Let’s move on.

Here’s our next best advice.

Ensure that the institution you select is properly approved to provide pet grooming vocational education in accordance with the laws applicable within the jurisdiction where it exists. Except for a small handful of U.S. states, "vocational schools" must be “state approved” or “state licensed” by an agency of the state in which they reside. It is your responsibility to ensure your school is currently state licensed (where required by law) before you enroll in the institution. Several U.S. states require vocational schools to provide all prospective students with the name and contact information for the state agency which licenses them. You can contact that agency to ensure if the school is in good standing. Most schools outside the U.S. are not formally licensed like most U.S. vocational schools, but sometimes they are certified. The same rule applies, investigate your school’s approval where required.

Your first step is to contact the schools of your interest and request their brochure (sometimes called a “catalog”). Thoroughly review the contents and follow-up with a site tour and interview with the institution's administration. Some U.S. states require a tour before you enroll; what does that tell you? Make it a point to tour the institution before you enroll.

Here's another very important piece of advice.

If several courses are offered, always take the longest course (whenever possible). As we have said before you will find that pet groomers keep learning more and more about grooming for the first several years. There are so many breeds and mixed breeds it can take some time before you had a chance to groom all the breed groups and the hundreds of different mixes. The longer your training period the more likely you will have a broad variety of experience. That experience will show down line and you will gain more confidence.

List of questions:

Is the institution "approved" or "licensed" as a vocational education institution? Schools outside U.S. may have an alternate form of approval or no approval may be required. Inquire with the school if they are subject to governmental approval. A few U.S. states do not license vocational education institutions.

What is the field-related background of the institution's owner and instructors?[*]How many instructors are there per student? What is the enrollment limit per class?[*]Is the institution accredited (accreditation is not the same as state licensed)?

Do they offer government related financial aid?

Do they offer private financing or payment plans?

Does the institution provide references from graduates?

Do they provide textbooks, handouts, videos or other forms of course materials?

Will you learn to groom multiple breed groups and various types of mixed breed pets?

Will you learn to groom cats?

How are the course hours divided between classroom and hands-on pet grooming?

Is the size of the institution's pet owner clientele, and average number of daily grooming appoints, adequate to supply all enrolled students with pets to groom every school day?

Do you have to share pets for grooming assignments with other students? If you do share pets how often can you be expected to share them?

Does the institution offer a job placement program and statistics for their actual placement success?

If you intend to be self-employed after graduation, will you learn pet grooming business management instruction as well as pet grooming skills?

If you are attending from out of the area, do they offer housing assistance?

Are you responsible to purchase a “toolkit?” What is the cost?

What happens if you are ill and cannot attend a class?

If you decide that grooming is not for you and you want to terminate your enrollment, are you eligible for a refund?

If you want to add more training hours at the end of the program in which you are currently enrolled, can you add more?

Do they provide field trips to trade shows or other extracurricular activities?

You should have many more questions by the time you read the brochure or catalog of several schools. The differences will become self-evident. What if your training curriculum and experience is inadequate because you choose a less effective school?

Take your decision very seriously, and we look forward to your entry into this exciting and growing industry.

Hi, everyone! This is actually my first time ever posting anything on here :) You all have awesome advice! I am actually a groomer with ADHD! All I have to say is, I was a lot like that, I would get...